Phone Calls
by sweetimagines
Summary: Jughead's only form of communication with his sister is through phone calls.
1. The Earth Stood Still For a Minute

**Word Count:** 316

 **A/N:** Hope you like it!

* * *

Jughead dials a number on his phone, nervous. It's the first time he's calling his sister after his mom took off with her. He's not sure what the right thing to say is.

" _Hello._ ", the girl says flatly as she didn't recognize the caller ID.

"Hey, Jellybean!", he smiles as he listens to his sister's voice again.

" _Oh my gosh, Juggie!_ ", she screams in joy and he can hear happiness through her words.

"How are you? Where are you? How's mom?", he bombards her.

" _Wow, slow down Jug._ " She takes a breath. " _We settled in Toledo with grandpa and grandma. Mom got a job as a waitress in a diner. Free milkshakes when you come visit._ " He notices her delight is now gone.

"I doubt it's better than Pop's." He could be happier if Toledo were just around the corner.

" _I'm starting school tomorrow._ " Then they both stay silent for a second. Jughead used to walk Jellybean to school on her first days.

" _What's happening in Riverdale? Not much, I assume._ ", she says, trying to lighten the conversation.

"Jason Blossom drowned on July 4th." Regular people wouldn't think it would be appropriate for a ten-year-old to hear, but Jughead knew his sister wasn't like any other kid that age.

" _Who's he?_ ", she asks, puzzled.

"The male half of Riverdale's ginger porcelain twin set.", he spat harshly.

" _You're writing about it._ ", she states, laughing a bit.

"How do you know?", he asks, amused at his little sister.

" _You're my brother. I'm the younger, female half of Riverdale's messy Jones' family._ ", she says wittily but sadly.

"I miss you, Jellybean." He releases some tears forming in his eyes.

" _I miss you too, Jughead._ " Her voice is breaking. " _Call me again soon?_ "

"Soon." He hangs up the phone.


	2. It's A Not So Wonderful Life

**Word Count:** 615

 **A/N:** Forgot to mention on part 1 that this is written as if their mom left not long before what happened to Jason, instead of two years ago.

* * *

Jughead picks up his phone to dial his sister's number, something he knows by heart. He can barely remember what it's like to have her around, which hurts so much. That's the last thing he wants to forget, and letting his parent's growing apart split them too is off the table.

" _Juggie! Took you long enough to call again._ ", Jellybean says happily and he can almost see the smile on her face.

"I see you saved my number. How's the new school going?", he asks thirsty for information.

" _It's just like in Riverdale_." She stops for a second. " _You've got the brainless jocks, the attention whore cheerleaders, the know-it-all geeks and us, the weirdos._ " She laughs as she's counting it in her fingers.

"If you keep saying smart things you'll have to be transferred to the nerd squad and I'll be left alone." He smiles as she laughs harder. "Made any friends?" He hopes she has.

" _There's this girl in my class, Mads. Her dad owns a record label and he also collects music, so he let's us listen to his records. Some are really underground, it's pretty cool._ ", she says excited. " _He's teaching me about blues, he says it's the soul of music._ "

"What do you think about it?" He wants to hear every word his sister has to say.

" _I like Janis Joplin, but I think you have to be old and have suffered a lot to truly appreciate it. Maybe Mr. Mason has been through stuff._ " Silence falls as they both realize at some point both of them will be able to see the beauty in Blues. " _How are you, Jug?_ "

"Been busy. Turns out Jason was shot. That adds a lot to the mystery. I'm gonna dig deeper into it." His mind already working the words to type later.

" _Be careful. I don't wanna end up brotherless like Cheryl._ " She knows she can't convince him not to investigate.

"I always am, Jellybean." He tries to reassure his little sister. "I'm gonna try to find out why Cheryl lied about him drowning."

" _Maybe she didn't._ ", she says not even herself believing it.

"That would mean he was trying to fake his own death. Why would he? Rich kid with the world at his feet." His mind already trying to find the answers. "Even more stuff to investigate."

" _Just don't get killed over it._ " She's genuinely scared for her brother. Riverdale isn't what it used to be. " _How's Archie?_ " She asks as she looks at a picture on her nightstand of Jughead and his best friend in the three house, remembering the small town she left behind, before blood stained it.

"We haven't spoken all summer.", he says bitterly. "He bailed on our road trip."

" _I'm sorry, Juggie._ ", she says, finding hard to picture her brother without Andrews alongside. " _You guys are good friends. Find out what happened, try to fix it._ "

"It's not just up to me, Jellybean." He's angry at his friend for not even giving him a heads up.

" _Who's gonna keep you company at Pop's now?_ " She laughs, trying to convince her brother of letting go of his grudge.

"My trusty laptop." He winks, not that she can see it, but he hopes she still knows him enough to picture it. "I'll call you tomorrow, Jellybean."

" _Good night, Jug._ " She hangs up. Her words about giving his friendship another chance resonating in his brain. He misses his sister deeply. " _She's so much smarter than me._ ", he thinks.


	3. The Juggy Horror Picture Show

**Word Count:** 665

 **A/N:** Reader will come in to the story soon.

* * *

Jughead is lying on his mattress in the cabinet under the stairs of Riverdale High, a camping flashlight barely illuminating the small space. He grabs a folded picture of him and his sister standing outside the Twilight Drive-In when they were younger. He remembers he hasn't called her as promised and quickly gets to it.

" _Yesterday was a long time ago, Forsythe_.", Jellybean says harshly. She only uses his real name when she's mad, and he doesn't blame her for being pissed.

"Sorry, so much happened since last time. I worked things out with Archie.", he tells her, confident she'll be glad to hear it. It's always advisable to start with good news to soften the bad ones.

" _That's awesome, Jug_." She sounds truly happy to know her brother isn't alone anymore and he almost backs out of telling her about the real reason he called, but she'd undoubtedly hate him for not doing so.

"Right, I get to see Vegas, that's a plus." He starts with some sardonic humor, building up the courage to tell her. "They shut down The Drive-In. It's being demolished.", he blurts out, quite aware there's not a pretty way of saying it.

" _What? How could they?_ ", she asks, knowing there won't be a right answer.

" _Your job, Juggie. You were living there too, right?_ ", she realizes her bother is now homeless and a tear escapes from her eyes.

"I'm fine, I've figured out. Don't worry about me, Jellybean." He can hear her sobbing quietly on the other side and has to use all his strength not to break down himself.

" _What about dad? Can't you go back to living with him?_ " His sister has a blind hope that her father has changed.

"Not yet, he's still the same old drunk FP. If I back down, he wins and he thinks he's right.", he says bitterly, wishing his father would clean up his act and fight for his family instead of drowning in a liquor bottle every night.

" _Stay with Archie then_.", she practically demands. " _That outta be better than wherever you're staying now_."

"How do you know I'm not staying at a 5-star hotel with room service?", he jokes as a self-defense mechanism.

" _Right. They even leave chocolates on your pillow_.", she jokes with him trying to hide the genuine concern on her voice.

"I'm fine, Jellybean. Trust me.", he says trying to convince his sister. "How are you?"

She takes a moment to answer, unsure if she should let go that easy on the subject. " _Mr. Mason took us to a Jazz festival last weekend_."

"How did you manage to convince mom?", he asks, glad to talk about something other than him being homeless.

" _Had to beg the entire week but what really sealed the deal was saying I'd stay out of her love life_." She regrets saying that, wondering if she has just added something to her brother's burden list.

"What?! Mom's dating again?", he asks hoping against hope she hasn't moved on already.

" _I don't know, I said I'd stay out of it_.", the girl sounds defensive as if she's hiding something. "I gotta go, Jug, grandma is signaling dinner is ready."

"Convenient.", he laughs.

" _I'll tell them you called. Goodbye, Juggie_."

"Bye. I love you, Jellybean." He takes the phone away from his ear, ready to hang up.

" _JUG_.", she shouts.

"Yeah?", he asks. He could've heard her screaming from China.

" _I go by JB now, Mads thinks it sounds cooler_.", his sister tells him.

"Good night, JB.", he smiles and hangs up.

He can't wait to tell his dad about their conversation. If his mother is already moving on, he has to get his dad back on tracks as soon as possible. Of course, Jug plans on leaving that part out.


	4. In The Name Of FP

**Word Count:** 945

 **A/N:** Introducing Y/N into the mix. Hope you like it. I dedicate this part to my twin southsidejuggie ❤️

* * *

Jughead is sitting at Pop's counter, poetically filling the pages of his novel, drinking the strongest coffee made specially for him: black, no sugar. His phone buzzes next to him and he finishes his sentence before picking up, still looking at the laptop screen.

"Yes…?", he says distracted.

" _You could sound more excited when you answer your only sister's call_.", the young girl laughs.

"JB! Hey!" He completely forgets about what he's doing to give her his full attention. "How are you?"

" _Ya know. Studying, listening to good music, eating tons of burgers and being forgotten by my brother_ …", she answers sarcastically.

"Wow, mom and dad really don't talk, then…" He's saddened.

" _What do you mean, Jug_?" She sounds curious.

"I was arrested for…", he starts telling her.

" _WHAT? You were arrested_?", she shouts and then whispers in case her mother is overhearing.

"Calm down. I was actually taken in for questioning, but it felt like I was being arrested." He can vividly remember being dragged by the police through the school halls.

" _Explain yourself, Forsythe_.", she demands.

"We found a car with Jason's stuff… And drugs. We told the Sheriff, but when he went to check it out, it was in flames.", he explains.

" _So they took you in because of your record, right_?", she asks.

"Yep. Pyro kid couldn't be left out of the suspect list.", he tells her angrily. Being accused of destroying evidence is one thing, but murder? "Anyways, Mr. Andrews took care of it."

" _You're not a pyro, it was an accident. I'm sorry dad wasn't there_." She wishes SHE was, in order to watch over her bother.

"He showed up. Late, but still. Believe it or not, he's working with Fred again. Dad's cleaning himself up, JB." He sounds hopeful that he'll get his family back together.

" _No way! And the Serpents_?", she asks.

"One step at a time." Jughead knows how hard it is to right all wrongs.

" _Are you staying with him again_?" Jellybean hopes her father is well enough to take care of Jug.

"Not yet. But you'll be glad to know I've left my 5-star hotel to live with Archie." He's fully aware that's exactly what she wanted.

" _So the three musketeers are back together_?" Excitement can be felt in her words.

"The three musketeers?", he asks puzzled.

" _Yeah. You, Archie and Y/N/N_." She makes it sound obvious.

" _Right. Y/N/N_." Jug prefers to see them more as Star Trek's Kirk, Spock and Uhura.

" _Don't tell me you too are fighting_.", she says, ready to lecture him about keeping his friends.

"God, no." He laughs. "We're… dating.", he admits shyly.

" _Dad owns me 10 bucks_.", she says proudly.

"You had a bet on me, on us?" He fakes being offended.

" _It was a sure win, can't blame me_." She's truly happy for her bother. " _Tell me about it_."

"I showed up at her window…", he tries to sound serious, but the memory of it makes him speak in a literary voice.

" _Very 'Romeo and Juliet' of you_." She interrupts him.

"I was just going to ask if she wanted to go to Pop's. She looked so beautiful and without thinking I just kissed her.", he tells his sister with a smile on his face, remembering how perfect it felt.

" _What did she do_?", she asks curiously.

"She looked as if she was gonna hit me, then she just asked, 'What took you so long, Jones?'." He laughs.

" _This is too cute, Juggie. You guys were meant for each other_."

"What about you? Got any crushes?" They don't really talk about that kind of stuff, but he wonders if he'll have to show up to intimidate a kid into behaving, like big brothers do.

" _If dead musicians count, then yeah_.", she chuckles. " _I got more important things to think about_." Unlike most kids her age.

"Still hung up on Jim Morrison? Wouldn't expect anything else from you, JB."

" _He was a true artist_." , she defends herself. " _Anyways, Mads and I are starting a band. She'll play the drums and I'll play the guitar_.", the girl says excited.

"'White Stripes' much?", he asks.

" _Hopefully. Problem is, we don't know how to play… yet_.", she answers. " _Maybe you could write some songs for us_?"

"Archie's the better fit for that. He can even teach you how to play when you come back." He hopes she will.

" _No way he's playing the guitar. Since when is Archibald poetic enough to write songs_?" She laughs.

"Weirdly, they're pretty good. I can send you some if you want." He almost regrets it, knowing the lyrics are quite depressive, but if she is able to survive Pink Floyd vinyls, maybe it's OK.

" _I wouldn't miss it for the world_." , JB accepts the offer with a sparkling voice.

"I gotta go. Y/N is here.", he says with a wide smile. "Let me know when you girls find a name for the band."

" _Will Y/N/N I said hi. Bye, Juggie_."

He hangs up the phone to kiss his girlfriend. Perhaps things are finally changing for better. He's dating the amazing girl he's been in love with all his life. His sister has a cool friend she can make projects with. His father is trying to be clean. Maybe, just maybe, everything will be fine.


	5. Little Miss Jellybean

**Word Count:** 1500

 **A/N:** Thank you my twin southsidejuggie for the inspiration. I planned on having their lyrics included in the fic, turns out I'm not a song writer, so it didn't work.

* * *

Jughead is vaguely staring outside Archie's window into Y/N's room, wondering if she's home and whether he should climb her balcony again. Just as he's about to text her to announce he's coming, he gets a call from his sister.

"Hello, Jellybean, my one and only sister. How great of you to call.", he answers the phone sarcastically.

" _That's better than your latest greeting, but next time tone it down a notch_.", she teases.

"What? That was too much for you, baby sis?" They both giggle.

" _So,_ _Jughead Jones working construction_.", Jellybean exposes, intrigued at the news she got. " _Didn't take you for a laborer_."

"How do you know?", he hypothesizes where she could've gotten that information. "It was one time, as a favor."

" _I have my sources. You're not the only detective in the family.",_ she jokes." _Ironic that you, the one trying to save the land, has to work on it's destruction_.", she points out, conflicted between sadness and inevitability.

"Sometimes there are more important things than holding grudges. Mr. Andrews was there for me when no one else was. I owed him. Still do.", he shares.

" _You are too pure for this world, brother_.", his sister observes.

"Some would disagree with you.", he protests, preparing to justify his point of view. "Archie found out about dad."

" _I know_.", Jellybean reveals. " _Archie texted me. He was furious_."

"Yeah, I got the wrath of Archibald in front of Y/N." Jughead shows a great deal of discontent in his voice.

" _I'm sorry she had to find out that way_." JB knows it was inevitable for Y/N to eventually see that for herself.

"It was surprisingly fine. Y/N told me she had her suspicions and that it doesn't change anything between us." He laughs, wondering how he got so lucky. "But what did Arch tell you?"

" _A bunch of crap. People say a lot of stuff they don't mean when they're mad_.", she tries to spare her brother of his best friend's rage impulsed words. " _I made sure he knew it was all bull and it would be stupid to throw away years of friendship over our dad's mistakes_."

"Sounds like the only thing keeping us together is your golden words of advice." That makes his sister laugh. "Since when are you guys in contact anyways?"

" _Since you sent me the songs. Had to give him my review_.", she answers, remembering her words to Archie (You should work on building lyrics structure not infrastructure). " _He also edited a song me and Mad's wrote to sing at the school's talent show_."

"How come I'm only hearing about this now?", he questions, a little hurt that his sister kept that from him and not Archie, even though he was the one to suggest his friend to help them.

" _We weren't sure we were going to perform it. We just started practicing_.", she explains with some reluctance. " _But when Archie sent us the finished lyrics, we HAD to_."

"Please tell me you have it on video." He understands his sister didn't want to tell him something and then fail, but he's still hurt he missed her first performance.

" _Yeah! Mom recorded it. I'll send it to you now_.", she says bubbly.

Jellybean hangs up and soon after Jughead's phone get a notification. "Call me back after you finish it." Attached with the video. He plays it immediately.

Jughead watches Jellybean and Mads get on the stage. His sister's teased hair in high pigtails with bright pink extensions, sparkly silver make up, her whole outfit a mix of 80's David Bowie and School of Rock which he found fit her perfectly. They start playing and Jug can't hold a grin. JB sings in a Joan Jett like voice the amazing lyrics two 12-year-olds wrote and it sounded professional, at least for his ears. As soon as the video ends, he calls his sister, still smiling through his teeth.

" _What do you think? I know it's short and raw but we didn't have much time to work on musicality. It's still too 'Ramones' for our liking_ …", she rambles nervously.

"Forsthia!", he interrupts her rambling, knowing her real name would get her attention. "You started a band without knowing how to play, wrote a song, kicked ass with your guitar, and delivered a killer performance." Jughead wishes he could've been there to tell her that face to face.

" _You think so_?", she asks, relief and joy filling her words.

"You're a natural talent, stubborn in a good way. You're unstoppable. When you put something in your head you make it happen. I can't wait to see how far you'll go.", he tells her proudly.

" _Don't make me cry, Juggie_. _And don't worry. I won't be a sell-out like Archie. You gotta keep an eye on that boy_." JB tries to stop the conversation from getting too serious.

"So you're really up to date with the news? Can't do much if he's pimping himself out.", Jughead condemns.

" _You know he doesn't have a filter on what he says. If you're a good friend, make sure he learns how to think twice. Arch is impulsive and that will lead him to some pretty bad spots_.", she warns her brother.

"Tell me about it. I think escorting Cheryl to her crazy family's events are already as bad as it gets.", he chuckles, knowing exactly how hard it is to keep his friend from acting on instinct rather than reason. "But tell me how you became one with your musical instrument so fast?"

" _Oh, right. Mr. Mason let me borrow one of his guitars. My choosing, he said. Their house is like the rock museum. He has a huge variety of Les Pauls and Gibsons, but I gotta start small, so I went basic: dark green Fender Stratocaster '62_." Jughead doesn't undertand much about brands and such, but he listens intently about his sister's passion. " _So I watched a Youtube video on simple accords and how to make them sound original. I'm not sure sure how much of it we got, but it sure is SIMPLE_." She laughs nervously.

"Autodidact much, huh? Did you girls find a name for the band already?" Jug is quite curious.

" _No, we haven't found anything that really represents us_. Mads suggested Dark Basilisk. You and me both know why it doesn't work, but she can't get the irony." In fact, Jellybean hopes her friend never does.

"How about 'Mad Beans'?" Jughead is overjoyed to be involved in it.

 _"_ _It's perfect, Jug. Thanks_." Jellybean writes it down on her notebook to tell Maddison later. " _Anyways. What's the update on the Jason Blossom sleuthing?_ ", she inquires.

"Y/N heard the Serpents had something to do with Jason dealing drugs and we went to ask dad about it. He confessed his guys provided Jason with the get-away car under the condition that he carried their 'product' out of town." He doesn't see the point on keeping secrets from her, however bad it sounds.

Jellybean stays silent, with her free hand covering her agape mouth, not entirely shocked her father is involved in a crime, but rather scared from their safety if someone else finds out.

"He didn't kill him, if that's what you're thinking.", he tries to make it perfectly clear, scared of his sister's silence.

" _It didn't even cross my mind, Jug. Dad made some wrong decisions, but he's not a killer. I know that_.", she eases her brother's fear. " _I'm just scared for you_."

"I'm gonna find whoever did it and it will all be over, don't worry."

" _I'm already worried_.", she admits. " _I have to go. Mom says I can't practice guitar until my homework is done_."

"She'd tell me that too, but it's easier to pretend to do homework when your hobby is writing." He laughs. "And starting now I'm the first to hear anything from you, ok?

" _Okay. Juggie, don't show dad the video_ …", she whispers.

"My mouth is sealed. Bye, JB." He knows she just wants her father to see it when her band is way better.

Jughead hangs up and heads to Y/N's house to show her the video, as Jellybean didn't say anything about anyone else. He just knows Y/N/N will love it just as much as he did. On his way down the stairs of Andrew's house, he finds Archie playing his guitar in the living room. "Hey man, thank you for helping JB with the band.", Jug shows his deep appreciation to his friend. "No problem.", Archie replies as if it weren't such a big deal.


	6. South of Riverdale

**Word Count:** 934

 **A/N:** The title comes from 'East of Eden'. Changed up a bit the dynamic of his birthday party to fit Y/N. There will be one more part to this, unless we get some JB screen time on season 2 _hopefully_ _._

* * *

Jughead is woken up by the vibrations of his phone underneath his pillow. He answers, still half asleep, without even checking for who's calling.

" _A very merry unbirthday to you_!", JB sings loudly.

"That was a month ago, Jellybean.", Jug yawns through his words.

" _That's the point of UNBIRTHDAY. How many times have I made you watch Alice In Wonderland with me_?" She remembers them cuddling in the small couch, eating popcorn and watching her favorite movie.

"Not enough apparently. Thanks." The raven-haired boy wished they could watch it one more time now.

" _Anyways. How was your first birthday party_?", she asks curiously.

"Why am I not surprised you know about it?" He chuckles. "It was an utter disaster."

" _So I've heard. Archie should've known better than to throw you one_." Everyone knows Jughead doesn't like both parties and his birthday.

"It started out fine, inner circle only, until Cheryl showed up with the rest of the school and kegs." He resents them for intruding without any regard to anyone's feelings.

" _What the fuck would she want there_?" The young girl is angry, if it wasn't for them, maybe hes brother would've had a nice birthday for a change.

"Chaos. And she got it. At some point one of the many drunk jocks cornered Y/N and was trying to kiss her." Jughead tightens his grip on the phone. "I punched him. Obviously he hit back harder… Dad threw everyone out."

" _Men are pigs_.", JB spits in disgust.

"I'm a man…" He's ashamed to be associated with such behavior.

" _No, Jug. You are human. You'd never do such abuse ever_." She couldn't have put it better.

"As usual, you are right." He's proud of how smart his sister is. "Anyways, how are you doing?"

"B _etter than you_." She laughs. " _Archie has been giving me guitar lessons over Skype. I sound less like an amateur now_."

"Got any new gigs coming?" He loves the idea of that little girl on stage.

" _A few covers at a small coffee shop this weekend_." She knows they have to start slow.

"Wish I could be there." Jughead hopes he can someday soon.

" _Wait till we play better venues_ …" Half of her wants him there, the other half knows he can't and tries to trick herself into believing it's better if her brother waits.

"I'd watch you play on a sidewalk for changes with the same enthusiasm as if it was at Madison Square Garden." Jughead can only hope someday she'll play on big stages.

" _I know, because you are the best brother in the world_." She wishes they could hug now. " _What are your weekend plans_?"

"I'm taking Y/N to the Homecoming Dance." He prepares himself for the teasing.

" _Jughead Jones III at a school dance? Never thought I'd see the day_." JB is actually glad he's being less anti-social since he started dating his female counterpart.

"I know, right? Y/N/N has a way of getting what she wants." Jug's not going to admit he's actually excited to go with her. "When I asked dad for a ride, he laughed, thinking I was joking."

 _"_ _If I were there, dad and I would bet a milkshake on how long you'd stand the dance_." She's playing with him, but it's likely they'd make the bet.

"As long as you'd share it with me.", he jokes, knowing she'd win.

" _Yes, but the cherry is mine_." Sometimes is nice to pretend they could actually do that.

"Speaking of dad. I think I'm gonna move back in," Jughead has only told Archie that so far, not even Y/N knows. He wanted his sister to hear it from him first.

" _Are you sure? I thought things were good at the Andrews_." Jellybean wants her family back together but she's also scared it may not be the right time.

"They are. But Fred is in debt and I'm not his responsibility. Plus, dad's reshaping. The trailer is clean, he shaved, and even asked to read my novel." The beanie-clad boy tries to convince her this is a good idea.

" _I really hope he's for real this time. I don't want you to be disappointed_ …" The young girl knows how many times the man promised he'd change and didn't.

"It will be fine. Don't worry." He reassures his sister. "I gotta go. Y/N slept over, in the guest room of course, and I smell pancakes downstairs."

" _Oh, wish I was there. Her pancakes are to die for_." JB can almost smell them from memory alone.

"Best I've ever had." He smiles at the thought of his girlfriend making him the greatest food.

" _Don't get sappy on me, brother. Say hi from me_.", She's grateful her bother is happy.

"Will do. Bye, JB." Jug really wants to talk more to his sister, but the awesome smell of the batter being cooked is distracting him.

" _Goodbye, lover boy_.", she teases and they hang up.

Jughead walks down the stairs, still only in his underwear and 'S' shirt. He hugs Y/N from her back as she pours some pancake batter on the pan. "JB says hi.", he tells her. "Yeah? I miss that little girl asking me for album suggestions." His girlfriend smiles and he kisses her passionately, feeling like the luckiest human alive.


	7. It's The End Of Riverdale As We Know It

**Warnings:** Angsty af. IT WILL BREAK YOUR HEART.

 **Word Count:** 1632

 **A/N:** Before anything. I dedicate this whole series to my twin southsidejuggie. I know how much she loves Jellybean (same as I) and that has kept me interested and happy through writing a not so popular series. She has been giving me priceless feedback that I can never fully express how much it means to me. Thank you so much Zoe! - I broke my own heart writing this. Changed a few things from the show to add something of my own. It saddens me to say, but this is the final part for this series. It was a pleasure writing this. I hope you guys enjoyed this journey!

* * *

Jughead lives his most fragile moment ever, feeling unable to take any other disappointments. First, he was betrayed by his closest only friends, then his dad's trailer was trashed by the police when they arrested him for Jason Blossom's murder. He can see nowhere else to turn to in Riverdale, so the apprehensive boy has one last glimpse of hope.

He stands in the phone booth outside the bus station, holding the piece of paper containing his mother's number and a ticket. Before calling, he memorizes the number and slips the two sheets inside his travel backpack containing all his stuff. The line rings for a while before being answered.

" _Yeah_." That's barely audible as loud conversation and plates clanking mix with her voice.

"Hi, Mom." This is the first time Jughead speaks to his mom since she left. He wishes it had been on better terms, but the boy had to learn the hard way early on to take what life gives you.

" _Jughead! It's been ages, so great to hear from you._ " Gladys walks out of the diner lobby into the employees room to muffle the noise from the customers.

"Hey, guess what?", Juggie asks in a somewhat cheerful way. Seeing his family again is the one light shining on the darkness that's taking over his life.

" _Did you win a writing award?"_ , the woman speaks through biting her fingernails, nervous she may say the wrong thing. " _What?_ "

"I got a bus ticket to Toledo.", Jug reveals excitedly, already anticipating how hugging his sister would feel like, finally able to see her play live.

" _When? Why? Did something happen to your father?_ " That's not really the news she was expecting nor the response he was hoping for.

"Yeah. I thought I'd come see you and Jellybean for a while." Jughead feels weird at the need to have a reason for seeing them. In fact, something did happen to his father, but the beanie-clad boy doesn't think it's wise to share that.

" _Oh, son… You know we are already crowded in here_.", she explains hardheartedly.

"I could crash on the couch." He's been sleeping in thin mattresses on the floor at the Drive-in/School/Archie's house, therefore a sofa would be an improvement, to be honest.

" _I'm already sleeping on the couch so JB can have the spare room_ … _There's just no space_. _You get it_?" Gladys opens her locker to look at a picture of the four of them under the tree house. She brushes her red fingertips over Juggie's face.

"Yeah." His heart tightens, barely allowing blood to pump through.

" _You know it's not that we don't want to see you. I work all the time and JB has school and she's always at her friend's house. You'd end up wasting your time_."

"Mmm-hmm." The eloquent writer can barely string two sentences together now.

" _And you don't want to miss school, right_?" At her every word, the light he was moving towards diminishes more and more.

"No." He's dumbfounded that's one of her arguments, like that ever mattered before.

" _Maybe when I save enough for an apartment of my own. You can even have your own room. It's just not the right time, you understand_?" In a different time maybe the prospect of that would've brought him joy.

"No, I understand." Juggie is used to being let down by his father, but this is a new feeling for him as for when his mom left, the last thing she said was " _I'm always here for you, Jughead_.".

" _Expenses aren't really that great. Your grandparents are already throwing at my face that they're supporting JB_." Money, the one constant ruining his family. FP not earning any was the reason she left, not having any is the reason she doesn't want her own son.

"Look, forget I said anything, okay?" The freckled boy has to use all the strength left in him to not fall apart then and there.

" _I'm sorry, Jughead_." Her words don't mean a thing at this point.

"All right. Bye." Jughead bites his bottom lip vigorously, trying to hold his tears in.

" _Bye. I lov_ …" She's cut off by Jug hanging up the phone.

If he could crawl into a dark hole right now, he would. They boy changes his ticket to Toledo for one to the next bus leaving, but there's still a long wait ahead. Before anything, Jughead wants to rid himself of the clothes that reminds him of the epic fail of the school dance. The closest place he can go is his dad's trailer. Getting there, Jug finds two helmets on the ground, his and JB's, dropped by unattentive police officers searching the place earlier. He thinks his sister has the right to know what's happening. Before even realizing, her voice is echoing through the small trailer as he puts her on speaker.

" _Jug? Are you there?_ " Jellybean can hear his breathing.

"Yeah. I got something to tell you." Jughead puts his beanie back on, for he needs all the comfort possible.

"Mom said you called and sounded weird. Does it have to do with that?", the raven-haired girl asks. "Got worried something bad happened."

"No… Everything is fine. Just wanted to see you guys." In that moment, Juggie can't burden his sister and the lie just fell from his lips.

" _Are you sure_?" She doesn't really believe him. " _Before I'm incriminated, I yelled at mom for telling you to stay in Riverdale_." JB wanted nothing more than seeing her brother but her mother stopped that from happening.

"Well, I'm not staying, anyways.", he confesses unintentionally, speaking his thoughts out loud.

" _What? You're coming regardless_?", the confused girl begs for information.

"No… Nevermind that." Her brother denies her wish.

" _I can't just let it go, Juggie_.", she insists.

"Look, I gotta go, talk to you soon, JB." His heart is shattered into a million pieces now..

" _NO! Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third! Don't you dare hang up on me_.", she shouts desperately.

"I love you, Forsthia." He hangs up in tears.

His phone rings immediately. **Ignore**. Again. **1 Voicemail**. Let it ring. **3 Text messages from JB Jones**. Deep sadness. **Turn off**. He wishes the world had an on/off button.

He seeks mental refuge, turning to his only safe place in Riverdale. Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe. Deserted at this hour. Surprisingly, not too long after his hit of cafeine arrives at his table, the bell rings. Jug doesn't even make an effort to see who it is until the person is standing in front of his booth. "Y/N, what are you doing here?" He drinks his coffee and she sits next to him, still in her Homecoming dress. "I've looked for you everywhere. You just left me there. I had to find out what happened by Reggie gossiping.", the hurt girl criticizes. "They went behind my back.", he explains. "THEM, Jughead. Not me.", she emphasizes by pointing at herself, but he just stares out the window, trying to keep himself together. "I know you are trying to leave. Do you know how much it would've hurt me if I found out you were gone?", the girl confesses, her voice breaking from keeping tears in. He doesn't have the strength to reply. "He was set up. You'd know if you had stuck around." That is the only thing that brings him back to reality, his eyes begging her for more information. "Alice confessed. She waited until he left to drop us off at the dance and set the gun in his closet, then called in an anonymous tip." He can't believe her words. "It was Grundy who killed Jason. They were having an affair, but then he wanted to be with Polly and she freaked out. Alice got the gun from Betty when she broke into Miss Grundy's car…" He kisses Y/N into silence, for all he needed was to know FP's innocent.

Pop brings the girl an extra cup of coffee. "I'm sorry. I freaked out.", Jughead explains, holding her hand firmly, scared of losing her, just as she was not too long ago. "I know. Just figured if you were going to run away you'd know I'd go with you." she rests her head on his shoulder. "Can we put this night behind us?", Jug requests. "Done.", she agrees. "Ok. Now explain to me what happened.", the inquisitive boy requests. "Sit back and relax, because things are about to get crazy. Even I can't fully understand it yet." Y/N instructs. "Alice found out Hal had stolen the files from the Sheriff. She flipped, thinking her daughters would be orphans if both their parents went to jail. So she confessed to both planting the gun and stealing the files." That is indeed a lot to take in, but the boy listens intently. Even Pop is eavesdropping. "She told Keller from whom she got the gun and he brought Grundy in for questioning. She broke easily, for she's very unstable." That concludes the mystery they've been trying to solve for the past months. "My brain has frozen. That's fucked up. Who would tell?", Jug comments shockingly, taking all that in. "Now let's get you unpacked, Mr.. You're staying with me.", Y/N instructs. The couple leaves the diner, feeling the weight of the world dropping from their shoulders. They leave everything that went wrong behind, as if it was just a nightmare.


End file.
